Responses to Responses

Lott4prez brings up a good point about leverage against Marques Douglas if the team signs Bengals defensive end Justin Smith. The 49ers could use both players.

I did get into it with Brandon Lloyd after he had an opportunity to catch a touchdown pass against the Bears in 2005 from Cody Pickett. The wind at Soldier Field was outrageous that day and there weren’t many opportunities to score. I wrote Lloyd was “tentative” in his attempt over the middle with a safety bearing down on him. I remember Rod Woodson being much harder on him than I was.

Lamont and Tonelli had Lloyd on as a guest every week on the Bone (107.7 FM), and Lloyd ripped me on the air for what I wrote, which was fine. I went up to him and tried to joke around about it and he wasn’t having any of it. He then ripped me again on the air.

I have gotten into confrontations large and small with 49ers players and executives over the years, it’s just part of the job, especially if you’re trying to be balanced when covering a losing team. The trick is not to let it color your coverage, which is probably a reason I shouldn’t have made the comment about Lloyd yesterday.

It’s too bad his career hasn’t ascended. He obviously has talent, but he never realized it for whatever reason. And I must admit his style of play annoyed me. He wouldn’t block and I’ve never seen a player avoid contact as much as he did, although Darrell Jackson comes close. But at least Jackson will block when he absolutely has to.

S49er brings up a good point about what the 49ers did with their third-round and fourth-round picks the team got for Lloyd. The third-rounder, wide receiver Brandon Williams was cut last October, and last year’s fourth-rounder pass-rush linebacker Jay Moore was hurt all year. Moore could still be a factor and even if he isn’t, the fact remains the 49ers got draft picks for a player who has been unproductive.

Spitblood mentioned Smith’s listed weight at 237. That’s an old weight for him. He played as high as 245 pounds, and it would be surprising if Briggs was 240 pounds. He’s not that big.

Bigdiggyd asked for comparison of Briggs versus other linebackers in 3-4 defenses in the league and here they are:

Dolphins- Channing Crowder -245, Joey Porter – 250

Patriots- Junior Seau-250

Jets- Eric Barton-245

Steelers- James Farrior-243

Chargers- Eric Wilhelm-245

Cowboys- Bradie James-250

Cardinals- Gerald Hayes-249

Browns- Antawn Peek-255

Ravens- Ray Lewis-250

Briggs might not be as versatile as you might think. He can cover and he makes a lot of tackles but in five seasons, he has 5.5 sacks. Even the 49ers think he might not fit a 3-4 and that’s the reason a switch to a 4-3 might be considered if Briggs were signed.

Briggs also might not have the mentality to stuff offensive linemen all day after being the run linebacker his whole career. The 49ers have their own history here. They signed tackle-mad Winfred Tubbs from New Orleans in 1998 and he never panned out well as a guard-stuffing player.

Also, philosophically, pursuing Briggs means the team is focusing their limited free-agent resources on the middle of their defense and to stopping the run. The NFL has changed, and the run isn’t as important as the pass. The 49ers should be gearing their efforts to the edges of their offense and defense (cornerback, wide receiver, tackle, pass-rusher), which is where games are now won and lost.

Ninertildeath, thanks for pointing out the misspelling of Samuels’s first name. I also misspelled Rosevelt Colvin’s name. Please point out any errors so I can correct them as soon as possible. My posts don’t get edited, so I’m flying without a net.

SprintRToption, I love the name. How many times did Jerry Rice score on that play near the goal line, especially in his record-breaking 23-touchdown, strike-shortened year of 1987? Half of them came on sprint-right-option, or at least it seemed that way.

Trading Frank Gore though? It would be difficult for any team to give up two first-round choices for any player (maybe Tom Brady or Peyton Manning) much less a running back. The offensive line also loves blocking for Gore and he’s so dedicated to the game. With Bryant Young, Derek Smith and possibly Marques Douglas leaving, the 49ers need Gore in the locker room and on the field.

Gore accounted for 46 percent of the yards gained in 2006 and 41 percent last year. Who would make up all those yards? DeShaun Foster? An injury-prone, sixth-year player who has never rushed for a 1,000 yards?